A judge has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion to New Mexico following a jury ruling that found the tech company liable for misleading users over privacy and content moderation policies on Facebook.
Presiding over the case, Judge Francis Mathew handed down the penalty, which state Attorney General Raúl Torrez characterized as "one of the largest, if not the single largest state verdict against a company in American history."
Torrez emphasized that the outcome should serve as a clear warning to tech firms, affirming that New Mexico will continue to hold them accountable.
Speaking at a news conference, Torrez stated, "This judgment should be a signal, an unambiguous message, to Silicon Valley."
Legal representatives for the state had originally pursued a penalty between $35 billion and $40 billion.
The order follows a September decision in which jurors found Meta liable for over 43 million violations of New Mexico consumer protection laws.
The breaches stemmed from the harvesting of Facebook user data by political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica to generate targeted political ads for the 2016 election.
While 48 other states previously settled with Facebook in a nationwide case, New Mexico chose to take the social media company to court on its own.
Attorneys representing New Mexico pushed for what could have been the largest legal judgment in U.S. history, arguing that the social media giant would only alter its behavior if hit with a sum large enough to impact its stock price.
Lawyers for Meta countered that the company should pay no more than $3.4 billion. They argued that an award 10 times that figure or more would violate due process, was unconstitutional, and would fail to hold up under appeal.
Torrez confirmed that the money awarded will go directly into a state fund dedicated to education.
Meta maintained that the state failed to prove misleading statements regarding privacy and content moderation caused actual harm to residents of New Mexico. Interest on the penalty will accrue throughout an appeal, though the number of individual violations Meta is charged with could ultimately be reduced.
During court proceedings, Meta attorney Matt Nicholson argued that a financial sum as high as $40 billion would be "shocking to the conscience" while an attorney for New Mexico, Randi McGinn, urged standing up to "tech titans who think they are bulletproof and can do whatever they want."
The state's lawsuit focused on allegations that Facebook deceived users about a massive data breach involving a third-party personality quiz. The application gathered data from roughly 87 million profiles before selling it to political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica to create targeted political ads. The now-defunct firm’s clients included the 2016 campaign for President Donald Trump.
Attorneys for New Mexico argued that the state's entire population, rather than strictly active Facebook users, were deceived by the company's public statements regarding privacy on the platform. Facebook's lawyers contended that the state failed to prove whether individuals were actually harmed by these deceptive statements.
"The jury didn’t make findings that any New Mexican heard or saw these statements, or was harmed by them," Nicholson said during a hearing Oct. 1.
New Mexico prosecutors also argued that Facebook allowed misinformation or violent content to proliferate across the platform. Defense attorneys vehemently denied the allegations, stating that the company’s content moderation policies are robust and that freedom of speech must be taken into consideration.
New Mexico was the sole state to pursue a trial regarding the Cambridge Analytica scandal after 48 other states signed an $18 billion settlement in August.
Aside from New Mexico, Florida was the only other state that declined to sign the settlement, which included a provision releasing Meta from future liability connected to the Cambridge Analytica privacy breach.
During the trial, jurors evaluated whether Facebook misled users about privacy and content moderation on 34 separate occasions. State prosecutors argued that Facebook’s statements deceived the entire population of New Mexico beyond just registered social media users.
Ultimately, jurors agreed with the state's premise and found Facebook liable for 2.1 million violations across certain counts, bringing the total number of violations to over 43 million.
Facebook's legal team has argued in subsequent court filings that state consumer protection laws do not apply to residents in New Mexico who were not using the platform at the time.
Torrez told reporters following the verdict that all funds awarded will be directed into a fund for the state’s education system. The state is also seeking an injunction aimed at preventing similar practices in the future.
Meta plans to appeal the jury's verdict, a move that could potentially lower the total number of violations and reduce the overall financial penalty. Lawyers for the company stated it was unprecedented for the state to tally violations based on how many individuals might have seen or heard misleading statements, asserting there was no evidence these statements ever harmed anyone.
During closing arguments, lawyers for Facebook asserted that the state’s evidence was outdated and noted that despite having five years to compile material, New Mexico uncovered only one other instance of a data breach.
In a rare victory for the defense, jurors determined the state failed to prove that Facebook made false claims regarding the removal of harmful content, including misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state argued that the company favored specific accounts and permitted violent or inaccurate material to proliferate. Attorney Randi McGinn stated in her closing argument that Facebook profited off harmful content, a claim CEO Mark Zuckerberg denied during his video deposition. Zuckerberg explained that the company must carefully balance freedom of speech with content moderation.
Attorneys for Facebook stated that the company has updated its policies since the state’s lawsuit was filed in 2021, noting that it currently removes 99% of content that violates platform standards.
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